APP WATCH: BBC finally launches news app

by7/23/2010 4:18:00 PM

7/23/2010 4:18:00 PM

After spending some time with the BBC Trust, the question of whether the BBC can launch its own iPhone apps has been answered - it can.

According to TechRadar, the BBC Trust has decided that the BBC producing its own apps doesn't infringe on anti-competitive rulings, which is effectively the green light. Indeed, the news app is already on Apple's app store for iPhone and iPad, with BlackBerry and Android applications coming later in the year. News is likely to be just the first area of BBC content heading to the app market too.

Speaking about the launch, Erik Huggers, director of the BBC Future Media & Technology said: 'We know that increasing numbers of you want to access BBC output on-the-go and the rapid growth of internet-connected mobiles and smartphones in the market means we can cost-effectively provide our content and services on these devices, and this is a really important way for us to deliver online services in the future.'

'The first class journalism that you expect from the BBC is now available to you in a way that is simple, personalised and optimised for mobile devices.'

So what do you get? Essentially the news in both landscape and portrait for your device, as well as live streaming of the news channel, plus regular updates to headlines and news stories. It's great news for us, but we suspect many news agencies are less-than-pleased about the arrival of BBC apps - especially the ones who charge a fee. The BBC apps, as you would expect, are free of charge.